


run, run, lost boy

by qq_riri



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Family Drama, Gen, HQ Brofest Rookie Tier
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-01
Updated: 2017-05-01
Packaged: 2018-10-26 04:34:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10779675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/qq_riri/pseuds/qq_riri
Summary: Tanaka quite possibly overreacts to a comment made by his parents, and decides to run away from home. Luckily, things all turn out for the better.





	run, run, lost boy

**Author's Note:**

> (title is from lost boy by ruth b)

“Why don’t you just  _ get  _ it?” Ryuunosuke shouted.  _ “Yes,  _ I have a girlfriend.  _ Yes,  _ I like girls. I can like guys, too, y’know? I like  _ both!”  _ He huffed, fighting the urge to stomp his foot. 

His parents looked at each other, giving each other a  _ look. _ “Ryuunosuke, we’re just saying that maybe you’re a bit confused. You’re young, after all. You’ll grow out of this phase.”

Ryuunosuke glared fiercely. “No, I won’t.” He whirled around, leaving his parents in the living room. He marched into his room, and purposefully slammed the door. He sank to the floor, leaning against the door. He could hear the hushed whispering of his parents, no doubt discussing what to do with him. The problem child.  _ Fine. _ If his parents didn’t want him, he didn’t want to be around them anyway. He’d just go to someone who  _ did  _ want him. He glared angrily at the door, kicking at the ground as tears sprang unbidden to his eyes. He whirled around, throwing open his closet door. He picked out his favorite shirt and jacket, tossing them behind him. He grabbed extra socks and underwear. Ryuunosuke turned his backpack upside down, shaking it vigorously to get rid of his school supplies. He wouldn’t need those. He shoved his clothes inside the backpack, and zipped it up with an air of finality.

He paused, rethinking his life decisions.  _ Nah, screw it.  _

He took his pillows, his clothes from his closet, anything unnoticeable and stuffed it underneath his blanket in a vaguely human-shaped lump. He looked at it and nodded in satisfaction. It would do.

He smashed open his piggy bank, gathering all the coins inside, counting them to make sure he had enough money for the train ride to Miyagi. Just barely, but that was good enough. He left them by his bag, and threw on a jacket. He shivered, deciding that another jacket was warranted. He opened his door, cringing at the squeak it made. He paused, waiting for a response from his parents. They were still whispering quietly, but not quite as quietly as they thought they were. He grabbed his toothbrush from the bathroom, and a few towels. He returned to his room and stuffed those in his bag, too, before slinging the bag over his shoulders.

Then, he added his savings to his pocket, and clenched them in clammy fists. He gripped tighter, trying to prevent them from clinking against his phone. He made his way out of his room, silently opening the front door and closing it. The small boy’s parents were so absorbed in their discussion, they brushed off the small squeaks completely. He made it outside to his front yard and breathed a sigh of relief.

Ryuunosuke gripped the straps of his backpack tightly, and set out with his head held high. As he walked along the dimly lit road, he continuously glanced around nervously. It wasn’t so late at night that it was odd for him to be walking around, but it was late enough that he felt nervous alone outside. As he made his way to the train station, he mingled with the crowd. He looked up at the happy faces of couples, heard the sweet nothings they uttered. He looked down at the children holding their parents’ hands, heard the giggling they let loose. He looked around, saw that everyone wasn’t alone, except  _ him. _ He grasped his backpack more strongly, and shook his head frantically.  _ That was why he was going to Miyagi. To be with someone who loved him. _

He set out, his conviction stronger than ever.

At the train station, the man at the ticket booth didn’t bat an eye at Ryuunosuke purchasing a one-way ticket to Miyagi. He surely looked older than his age, given his height. He’d never been particularly fond of being oddly tall for his age, but this made him grateful for it. He was given the ticket and moved on to waiting for the train. 

He stood idly on the platform, and opened his phone. He tried to turn it on. No luck.

_ “Damn,”  _ he cursed. “Why is it dead already...I barely used it!” Suddenly, he was hit by the realization that he’d played Tetris on his phone all throughout the school day. “Oops.”

Motion blurred at his peripheral. The train was here. He treaded toward the door, falling in step behind an older woman. The crowd shuffled forward, and stopped. Another three inches. Stop. A few more. Again. Again. Again. And then  _ finally,  _ he was on the train. He made his way to an empty seat, but saw another person heading toward it. He gave it up as a lost cause, and held onto the strap overhead. At least this way he wouldn’t fall asleep on the train ride, he mused. 

The train jerked before starting to move. He would be here for a while, so he thought. He thought about his girlfriend, and how he felt bad for not telling her anything. It really couldn’t be helped, though. He thought about his parents, and how they would react before realizing that he didn’t really care all that much. More importantly, he thought about Saeko, and how  _ she _ would react. Not well, he guessed. But she wouldn’t turn him away, and that was enough. 

Ryuunosuke was abruptly stopped, brought to his senses at the word “Miyagi.” He stumbled toward the door, numb legs carrying his body forward. He made it through the doors just as they closed. He sighed heavily. Now to get to Saeko.

His legs moved on auto-pilot, steering him through crowds of people and, at times, empty streets.  _ Take a left at this street, a right here, go straight, left, right, another right... Her house should be the one with the nice flowers. Ah, here it is... _ He rapped the door and waited for an answer. None was forthcoming. He slid down to the floor and sat with his back against the door, backpack used as a pillow. He raised his knees and hugged them, He was alone. He rested his forehead against his legs and let out a muffled sob.  _ This wasn’t fair! _ Hot, angry tears silently streamed out of his eyes, soaking the fabric underneath.  _ Second time today... How pathetic. _

The young boy cried until he could cry no more. The exhaustion led to sleep, dried trails of tears still on his face. The rising moon shone softly upon him, illuminating the small form. An almost angelic glow surrounded him as he slept, quiet cries and pleas escaping his lips now and then. Had it not been so late at night, perhaps a passerby would have looked on with concern at the shivering figure. Perhaps they would have even attempted to help. Alas, it was not meant to be. The boy shivered alone, waiting for his beloved sister to return home.

As luck would have it, a figure slowly approached the door of the house, muttering to herself. A string of expletives flew from her downturned mouth, not directed at anyone in particular. She kicked at the ground, tightly clenched fists in her pockets. She looked up, saw the ball upon her doorstep, and sprinted.

“Ryuu!” she cried. The boy grumbled incoherently; the only other response was a turn of his head, almost as though he were shielding himself from the noise The woman bent down and shook him awake roughly. “Ryuu! What on  _ Earth _ were you thinking, you idiot?” 

The boy blinked sleepily at her. “Saeko? What are you doing here...?”

_ “Ryuu!”  _ Saeko cried, clutching at her little brother. “Why aren’t you at home? Mom and Dad called me, telling me you disappeared!”

“What...?” A look of dawning comprehension appeared on the boy. “Oh.” 

“Is that  _ really _ all you have to say?  _ Dammit,  _ Ryuu! You scared the  _ shit  _ out of me,” Saeko scolded. “How long have you been out here? Let’s get you inside right away.”

“Okay,” Ryuunosuke slowly agreed. He couldn’t really feel his face, and the thought of a heater sounded pretty great to him at the moment. He was pulled to his feet by his sister’s strong arms, and stumbled inside once she had wrested the key into the lock. He dropped onto the couch, sinking deeply into the soft cushions. Saeko bustled around, gathering blankets and draping them over the boy. “I...guess you probably want to know why I’m here.” He hazarded a guess.

Saeko, dropping into the seat next to him, nodded. “Go ahead. You freaked out Mom and Dad pretty badly, you know?”

Ryuunosuke looked down. “Yeah. Yeah, I know.” He sighed, searching for the right words. “It’s just...I didn’t want to live with people who couldn’t accept me for who I am.”

Saeko tilted her head. “Who you are...? What do you mean?” Her voice was uncharacteristically soft as she reached out and placed her hand on Ryuunosuke’s head.

His head drooped downward. “I’m... I like boys,” he admitted quietly. “So I told Mom and Dad, and they told me that  _ ‘Ryuu, honey, it’s just a phase.’  _ I got pissed.¨

Saeko gazed tenderly at the boy and enveloped him in a tight embrace. She squeezed hard, and closed her eyes. She could feel dampness on her shoulder, but ignored it. She sighed into her brother’s shoulder, and let her hands rub comforting circles into his back. “It’ll be okay, Ryuu. It’ll be hard, but you can live with me until you go to college.” Her hand stilled. “That is... If you want to?”

Shaking, he let out a soft wail.  _ “Yes,  _ I want to! I love you so much.” He couldn’t believe he’d ever thought that she wouldn’t support him. He was so lucky to have a sister like her.  _ So luc...  _ His wails quieted, and were replaced by snores. His expression, in contrast to his previous one, was content.

She chuckled, and responded, “I love you, too.” When she saw that his breaths had evened out, Saeko swung him into her arms and carried Ryuunosuke to her bed. She put him down and tucked him in before crawling in herself. She turned onto her side and promised that she’d always be there for her little brother. “I promise, Ryuu,” she whispered.

Ryuunosuke let out a soft sigh of happiness.

**Author's Note:**

> honestly this was more projection than anything, but i can see tanaka being over the top like this, too. this is intended as a backstory for why we never see the tanaka siblings' parents in the anime and why they appear to live alone. i hope you at least kinda enjoyed it! please review and let me know what you did or didn't like!


End file.
